


Deck the Halls of Holby City

by HartKins



Category: Holby City
Genre: AU, Berena Advent, Berena Advent 2019, Christmas Fluff, Cider, Comfort, Decorating, Eventual Smut, Exhaustion, F/F, Feast, Giving, Glasses, Holly - Freeform, Laughter, Lighthouse, Magic, Naughty, Obsession, Peace, Scrooge - Freeform, Shivering, Snow, Snowman, angel - Freeform, dance, frost - Freeform, pinecone - Freeform, safe, sleigh, stable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:54:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 13,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21643273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HartKins/pseuds/HartKins
Summary: Ficlets for Berena Advent 2019 prompts
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 122
Kudos: 87
Collections: Berena Advent 2019





	1. Feast

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first year participating and I'm so excited!!!!!
> 
> The first one is definitely AU because my brain can't remember if everyone mentioned in the fic was at Holby at the same time.

It was Christmas Eve at Bernie & Serena’s and things were going great. It was the couple’s first real Christmas together and they were so excited. They decided in late October that they were going to host Christmas dinner at Serena’s house. The house seemed huge, normally, but they knew that once everyone got there it wouldn’t.

They invited practically everyone from Holby City Hospital for dinner; Raf, Fletch and the fletchlings, Donna & her clan, and of course Ric Griffin. Dom, Lofty, Sacha, Essie, Zosia, Ollie, and Serena even persuaded Jac Naylor to stop by as long as there was plenty of alcohol, which wasn’t a problem. And a Holby hospital Christmas party wasn’t complete without the CEO himself, Henrik Hanssen, who insisted on bringing a Swedish dessert that he used to enjoy during the holidays. Serena didn’t have the heart to say no to him.

Bernie was excited about this dinner because it was the first one with her children since the divorce. Charlotte was finally speaking to her and they actually had a pretty good relationship going. Cameron was working at Holby and he & Morven had been together for a couple of months.

Serena’s daughter Elinor was doing great and said she was bringing a plus one to dinner. Serena figured it was a guy she had been dating that she didn’t know about. Jason was living with Allan again and enjoyed being a porter at the hospital because it meant he got to see Serena almost every day.

Serena didn’t think she made enough for everyone, but Bernie assured her that she made enough to feed Serena’s entire street. 2 turkeys, 2 pans each of 8 side dishes, 5 different types of pie, and whatever other people wanted to bring. They were all going to eat themselves sick, but at least most of them were medical professionals!

The guests started to arrive and soon Serena’s house was filled with laughter from the people that she & Bernie both loved.

Dinner was delicious; even Hanssen’s Toscakaka--an almond caramel cake-- was great, and of course, Bernie was right and they had way more than enough food. Jason suggested giving the leftovers to a homeless shelter so other people could enjoy the food as much as he did, and everyone thought it was an excellent idea and helped package and deliver the food.

After the guests left and it was just Bernie, Serena, and their kids, they decided to open gifts since some of them had to work the next day.

Overall, Christmas Eve was a success and Serena vowed that as long as she lived in Holby, she would host it every year. Bernie didn’ care where she was in the world on Christmas Eve, as long as she had Serena and her kids next to her, she would be happy.


	2. Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if this one fits the prompt of dance, but I thought it turned out cute.

December 2023 had Bernie & Serena at Guinevere Haynes’ Christmas program. Their grandniece was 5 and a half and this was her first school program.

The kids on the stage sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and were about to start Up on the Housetop when the music teacher said that they needed help from the audience. The smile on Serena’s face could not have been bigger. She loved going to children’s programs, but even more, she loved it when she got to participate in them. This brought back memories of her performing in her own programs when she was a kid and watching Elinor’s when she was little. Bernie was different, however. She hated the programs she was forced to do when she was younger and even though she loved Cam & Charlotte, she hated going to theirs and Marcus always found a way to make her feel guilty for wanting to miss them.

Everyone in the audience stood up and began joining the kids in doing the moves for Up on the Housetop. Everyone except Bernie. She remained in her seat with her arms crossed. She never liked dancing, if this was even considered dancing, she had no rhythm and she knew her arms would flail around no matter how graceful she tried to look. Jason bent down and tried to explain to her the importance of audience participation, but she didn’t budge. Serena even tried pulling her up by her arm, but still nothing. It wasn’t until she looked at the look on Guinevere’s face that made her stand up. The little girl sang a little during the previous songs, but she just stood there not moving an inch with her arms at her side and Bernie knew why. Somehow, she developed the same shyness as Bernie and no matter how many times people tried to reassure her, she still hid in her shell because like Bernie, she was also stubborn.

Bernie knew the little girl could see her by the way she looked at the blonde woman. They had this special connection and Bernie always knew when Guinevere was scared. Bernie suddenly stood up and stared right at the girl on the stage and joined in with everyone else. Guinevere started copying Bernie and soon the entire auditorium was dancing along to Up on the Housetop.

When the song ended, the music teacher announced that the last song was We Wish You a Merry Christmas and that they would need help singing that one. Everyone remained standing and Bernie knew she couldn’t sit down even if she wanted to. When the song ended, the place broke out in applause and the kids on the stage smiled with pride. Guinevere was jumping up and down with excitement from the noise, causing her family to laugh and cheer.

The program was such a magical experience that made Bernie rethink how she felt about them. It made Guinevere come out of her shell a bit all because of Bernie, and that made Bernie feel so special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if school programs are a thing in the UK, but they are in the US!


	3. Frost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I like it better when I stay up and write the fic before sleeping. I was paranoid you guys wouldn't see my fics because I would set the publication day to the day before and it would get lost amongst the other fics in the Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe relationship tag. I hope I can keep this up!

Serena Campbell was very angry one winter morning. She was running late for work because her beloved coffee machine decided to play tricks on her and release the special liquid before she was ready and it got all over the counter and on her nicest pair of shoes. She had an important meeting that morning and wanted to look her best. As she was dealing with the coffee situation, the toaster wanted to join in on the fun and burnt the last cinnamon crunch bagel she had and she was really looking forward to eating it. As mad as she was, she chuckled to herself as she remembered that she told Bernie the night before that she didn’t want anything for Christmas and that she had everything she could ever need. She must’ve jinxed herself at that moment as she sat on the couch drinking a glass of wine with her partner.

Serena quickly made her way out to her car and when she got in and turned it on, the wipers started going crazy, but it did nothing to clear the windscreen as the entire thing was covered in frost. She cranked the defrost on as she frantically looked around for a scraper, but remembered that she loaned it to Dominic Copeland the other day because the poor lad was using a credit card. She told him she was in a hurry and that she would get it from him the next time they saw each other in the car park.

“SHIT,” Serena shouted as she stomped back inside the house.

“What’s wrong?” Bernie asked as she was putting her coat on. She planned on following Serena in her car because they both had errands to run after work and thought that they’d get done faster separately.

“My bloody windscreen is frosted over and I don’t have a scraper because I lent it to Dom,” she grumbled as she dug around in a drawer for a metal spatula or anything that resembled a scraper.

“I’ve got one in my boot, let me take care of it. You wait inside,” Bernie smiled as she rubbed Serena’s arm to calm her down.

“Okay. Thank you,” Serena replied before pecking Bernie’s lips.

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

As Bernie cleared both of their windscreens in the bitter cold with no gloves on, Serena couldn’t help the smile on her face. Bernie was so soft and caring, but always found a way to show her macho and tough side, even if for a second, and that was one of the many reasons she loved Bernie Wolfe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, finally a fic with some dialogue! For some reason, these prompts are turning me into a complete fluff ball, but I'm not complaining! It's somewhat refreshing from all the angst and whatever from The Truth In Somalia and Who said it had to be on the bed? fics, which I will be getting back to hopefully soon!


	4. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this one on my phone while lying in bed and I was surprised my thumbs and hands didn't hurt afterward.

Massive snowstorms very rarely hit the town of Holby City. You could count on your fingers how many there were in the last 100 years. Today, however, was a strange day. Bernie & Serena has woken up to the wind blowing so hard, it caused their alarm clock radio to cut in and out due to the power lines dancing outside. When they took a peek outside their bedroom window, all they could see was snow. No concrete, no cars, and no grass. Thankfully, it was a Saturday and they didn’t have to go into work, but they at least needed to uncover one of the cars and shovel the driveway, in case of emergency.

They started by having a nice hot cup of coffee and toast as they watched their neighbors attempt to uncover streets and cars. Luckily, the wind had died down by then so it made the shoveling not as bad. They were still dreading going out there, though, and facing the white powder, but it had to be done.

After they finished eating, they donned their thickest and warmest snow attire and headed out to attack, what the weather people were calling, snowmageddon. It was a term they had heard The United States use in 2010 and it was a fitting name for such an event.

Serena started on the driveway while Bernie brushed the snow off of her car and dug around the wheels, she was finished in no more than 10 minutes. She then turned around and noticed Serena was struggling a bit. The shovel she had chosen couldn’t handle the heavy snow. She really didn’t know what she was doing because every time she threw the snow to the side, it blew right back in her face, causing her to yelp.

As Bernie watched her partner struggle, she couldn’t help but laugh. She loved Serena so much, but sometimes she was an idiot. Before Bernie went over to help her out, she decided she would do something real quick. She laid her shovel next to her and crouched down and picked up a handful of snow and formed it into a ball. She quickly grabbed her shovel and stood up and waited for just the right moment to strike. Right as Serena was bent over, with her bum in the air, Bernie threw the snowball as hard as she could. She then immediately turned around and faced away from Serena as she pretended to shovel the spot in front of her.

“BERNIE!” Serena screeched as she turned around.

“What??” Bernie replied, now facing Serena again.

“You threw a snowball at my bum!”

“No, I didn’t! I’m shoveling!” Bernie said as she pointed to the ground with a slight smirk on her face. She was terrible at telling lies and Serena knew it.

“Liar,” Serena smirked as she picked up some snow and threw it at Bernie, aiming right for her chest.

“That’s it. You’re gonna get it!” Bernie laughed as she ran towards Serena and knocked her onto the giant pile of snow Serena created on the lawn.

They laid on the ground together for a few minutes before Bernie pressed her lips to Serena’s, both of the women shivering at each other’s cold lips.

“Should we take a break and warm up inside?” Serena asked when they pulled apart.

“Yes, please,” Bernie smiled before standing up and then helping Serena.

After stripping off their wet clothes, they sat by the warm fireplace and sipped hot cocoa as they looked into each other’s eyes with a look of contentment on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why these keep coming out SO FLUFFY!!! I bet y'all aren't complaining though right???


	5. Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is crap because I had trouble thinking of what to write.

It was a chaotic December evening on AAU. The weather had been nice that day so everyone in the town thought it was a good idea to put their Christmas decorations out. Unfortunately, that meant Holby City Hospital was packed with injured people. The ED saw so many broken arms and legs, as well as concussions. They ended up being so packed that they had to send patients to AAU and Keller.

“Will this ever end?” Serena groaned while standing at the nurses' station.

“It’s not that bad. We’ve handled far worse than this,” Bernie chuckled. She loved the chaos, it brought her back to her time spent in the army. This was nothing compared to the utter madness she faced while gunfire could be heard in the distance.

“I know, but why do people choose to be idiots at the same time?” she asked. “I mean it’s not that hard to put up lights, is it? Most of these people look like they’ve never even used a ladder before. They should just hire a professional to do it or stick to lawn decorations.”

“I know nothing about hanging lights, so don’t look at me,” Bernie laughed. “It’ll calm down soon, though,” she said as she rubbed Serena’s arm.

Serena was tending to a patient with a suspected concussion. She did all of the routine tests and was just about to walk away when the patient turned towards her and vomited all over her shoes.

“Oh for God’s sake! A little help over here!” she yelled. “Inner peace, Serena,” she said to herself with her eyes closed as she breathed deeply.

Bernie ran over as quickly as she could and helped Serena take her ruined shoes off before guiding her to their office.

“I’ve got an extra pair of shoes in my locker. I’ll go grab them and be right back,” Bernie said after she sat Serena down.

“Wait, don’t go yet,” she whispered to the blonde.

“What’s wrong?” Bernie asked as she sat down next to her partner.

“I’m just so tired of this and I have a headache. I thought I could handle this, but I can’t. I want it to stop. I just want it all to stop,” she whimpered in Bernie’s arms.

Bernie knew she wasn’t talking about what was going on outside the office. It had almost been a year since Elinor died and it was the holidays, Serena was bound to have another setback.

“It’s okay, darling, I’m right here,” Bernie whispered as she gently rocked Serena in her arms until she felt her drift off to sleep.

10 minutes had passed and they needed to get back to work, but Bernie made no effort to move. She instead turned her head and looked out the window to see how everything was going when she suddenly met eyes with Fletch. Soon he was tapping on the door and peeking his head in.

“Are you two okay?” he whispered, not wanting to wake Serena.

“She’s tired and overwhelmed. How’s everything out there? Do I need to come out there?” Bernie asked.

“Nope, you stay right there and take care of Serena. I’ve got everything under control out here,” he smiled.

“Thanks, Fletch,” she sighed in relief.

Bernie looked down at Serena and saw how peaceful she was. She knew Serena hadn’t been getting much sleep due to the time of year. Serena has told her that Christmas was Elinor’s favorite holiday, and they had so many memories of decorating and spending time in the kitchen together when the girl was younger. Bernie could only imagine what Serena was going through and it was no wonder Serena wasn’t sleeping well.

Serena woke 45 minutes later and saw that Bernie had dozed off as well. She then realized where they were and quickly stood up.

“Bernie. Wake up, we fell asleep at work,” Serena said as she shook Bernie’s arm.

“I know. Fletch said we could,” Bernie groaned at being woken suddenly.

“Oh. Everyone’s gone,” Serena said as she looked out onto the ward and saw that there were no longer patients congregating around the desk and that there were hardly any in the beds.

“Good. I knew it would calm down eventually,” Bernie said as she looked out the window.

“Thank God. Okay, can we come home now?” Serena asked as she went over to her desk to gather her things.

“Of course. Hey, let’s put our Christmas decorations up!” Bernie said, hoping to get Serena to laugh.

“Don’t you even think about it,” Serena grimaced.

Bernie & Serena walked out of the hospital hand-in-hand, excited to spend the next couple of days together in peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was still kind of fluffy, wasn't it? I'll try to do better in the next fic.


	6. Exhaustion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked it better when I wrote these fics before I went to sleep because I wasn't forcing myself to write like I have been doing.

It was the 12th of December and Bernie & Serena were currently at M&S. They had been to just about every store within a 30-mile radius of Holby and had spent well over £500. Why you might ask? Christmas shopping, of course!

Serena loved to Christmas shop, she loved giving and receiving gifts. She made sure to give something to nearly everyone at Holby City Hospital, and she loved it.

They had bought gifts for everyone on AAU, obviously, and several people on Keller & Darwin. They just had their kids left to shop for, which Bernie was dreading because she was never good at giving gifts.

Bernie hated shopping of all kinds. She was never in the mood and she didn’t have the talent of finding good deals. When Christmas and birthdays came around when her kids were younger, she was thankful for when they could tell her what they wanted. She would always get them the toy or clothes that they asked for and it made her feel happy.

Christmas for the adults in Bernie’s life was tricky. She tried to be creative but always ended up giving gift cards or stupid gag items because most of the people she gave gifts were men and she knew they’d enjoy them.

Bernie’s feet were killing her by the time they got to M&S. How could Serena still have so much energy after almost 8 hours of shopping?

They finished up at the store with clothes for their kids and were ready to head home. On their way, Serena wanted to make one more stop to get a special present for Jason that she knew he would love, the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

They finally got home and carried the 25 shopping bags inside and releasing a deep sigh.

It was 5 pm and time for tea, but they were both more tired than hungry to even think about what to eat.

They both slowly made their way upstairs and into their bedroom and plopped down onto the bed. Too exhausted to get under the covers, they fell asleep for 2 hours as their bodies, mostly their feet, recovered from all of the walking. They both experienced what they decided to call, Christmas Exhaustion and they didn’t think they wanted to experience that ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Exhaustion is a thing, but it relates to feeling overwhelmed after spending time with so many relatives. I know I get this a lot and not just on Christmas. It happens whenever I have to spend time with my mom's side of the family, they are a lot to handle.


	7. Stable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the prompt.

3 weeks before Christmas Eve had the staff on AAU, Keller, and Darwin preparing for a play. The staff on the Pediatrics ward thought it would be a good idea to put on a version of The Nativity Scene as a way to cheer the children up. Everyone on the 3 wards was excited as it was something they had never thought about doing.

They were going to try and include all of the animals and people from the nativity scene, so they needed to gather a bunch of willing participants.

Henrik Hanssen, the CEO, was head of the whole operation and was in charge of getting the equipment and tools to build the stable. It had to be pretty big, but he was sure they’d be able to find another use for it afterward.

Sacha Levy was in charge of recruiting people to be in the play. As he sat down at his desk on Keller, he began thinking of the perfect people to play each part while making a list of how many people and animals there were going to be.

Mary  
Joseph  
Wise man 1  
Wise man 2  
Wise man 3  
Shepard 1  
Shepard 2  
Donkey  
Ox  
Camel  
Sheep

He knew that there were more animals than what he listed, but they didn’t have the money or time to get costumes made for very many people, they would have to make do with what they had.

As he looked at the first name on the list, Mary, he immediately thought of who should play her and went straight down to AAU.

Bernie Wolfe was just walking back towards the doors of AAU when Sacha called her name.

“Have you heard about the play we’re putting on for the kids?” Sacha asked as he walked beside the blonde.

“I have, yes,” Bernie replied.

“Good. Well, I was wondering if you would do the honor of playing Mary?” Sacha asked with a hopeful look on his face.

“Me? Surely there’s someone else that could play her better than me. What about Serena?” Bernie chuckled. She thought she was the last person that should play Mary. 

“Nope, I think you’ll be the perfect person, and I’ve already picked out who Serena is going to be,” Sacha smiled.

“Alright, fine,” Bernie sighed as she agreed. She knew it was just a silly play, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Sacha made his way around the hospital as he went through the list of characters. It wasn’t too long before it was completed and he began figuring out the costumes.

It was an hour before the play was to begin as Bernie was sitting in her office donned in her Mary costume and nervous as heck. She took deep breaths and drank water while she tried to will the nausea away. She never thought stage fright would grip her so hard at such a simple and small performance.

Serena, in her costume, walked into the office and noticed that Bernie was struggling a bit.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” Serena asked as she sat down in the chair near Bernie.

“I’m a bit nervous for some reason. I don’t usually get nervous,” Bernie laughed.

“When was the last time you played the Virgin Mary in a play?” Serena asked.

“Uh never?” Bernie replied as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Well, there you go. That’s why you’re nervous, it’s something brand new,” Serena smiled. “Come on, you’ll do great,” she said as she stood up and held Bernie’s hand to help her stand up.

Sacha did an amazing job on all of the costumes. He knew a seamstress and thankfully he was able to get all of the people and animal costumes made pretty quickly and cheap. He was also able to pull some strings and got Bernie one of those fake pregnant bellies for her to wear under her costume because he knew stuffing a pillow under her shirt wouldn’t have worked.

“Yikes, this thing is heavy,” Bernie groaned as she stood up and held onto her belly. The baby bump weighed 10 pounds and looked so real. “I forgot what being pregnant felt like,” she chuckled.

“Well, pregnancy beautiful on you,” Serena purred as she touched the fake bump before wrapping her arms around Bernie’s waist with a little difficulty. “I wish I could’ve seen you pregnant because it’s quite sexy,” she husked as she pressed her lips to Bernie’s.

“I was fat when I was pregnant. Everything from my head to my toes was swollen,” Bernie groaned as she thought back to those days of being pregnant.

“Still sexy,” Serena replied and kissed her lips again. “I wish I could play Joseph” she sighed when she pulled away with a pout on her face.

“Well, you can’t because Mary wasn’t a lesbian and Joseph was a man. Also, we do not want to confuse the children because that would make Holby City look bad,” Bernie said.

“I guess you’re right,” Serena sighed. “Why did Sacha make me wear this?” she asked.

“Because you’re an arse,” Bernie grinned widely.

“Bernie!”

“Donkey! Arse as in donkey!” Bernie laughed.

“Oh, right. Okay.” Serena rolled her eyes. “We should start heading up there.”

The staff did excellent at playing their parts and Sacha was proud of who he chose. Ric played Joseph and stood inside the stable with Bernie as Mary; Fletch, Raf, and Cameron were the 3 wise men, with Zav and Jason as the shepherds. Standing, or kneeling, outside of the stable were Serena as the donkey, Dom as the camel, and Essie as sheep. Sacha struggled to get the person he chose to play the ox to agree. Jac Naylor refused to partake in anything that had to do with costumes, but after some persuading from Emma, she finally agreed, but not before muttering “for ox sake,” and rolling her eyes.

The play was a success and all of the children and their parents enjoyed it. The children were filled with joy and Henrik decided that the nativity scene would be done every year as a way to bring all of Holby City Hospital together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I won't lie, I just wanted a reason to call Serena an ass 😂 and it made sense that Bernie got to do it.


	8. Obsession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love writing about obsessions, so this one was easy and fun.

Bernie had no idea how much Serena loved Christmas until today. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she walked downstairs into Serena’s living room. Decorations covered the entire floor and every seat in the room. Bernie didn’t think she had ever seen so many Christmas decorations in her life. There was a pile of lights as long as an American football field, every tree ornament you could imagine, and so much garland you could wrap around the outside of the house twice.

“Bloody hell,” Bernie gasped when she found a clean spot to stand.

“What? Just some decorations for the house,” Serena replied.

“Some decorations? No, some decorations would be 10 ornaments and 12 feet of garland and lights. This is a warehouse of decorations.”

“I just love Christmas!” Serena squealed.

“Yeah, so do I, but this is ridiculous!” she chuckled.

Serena had a system of organizing and decorating and she tried to teach Bernie, but the poor blonde was overwhelmed and all she was doing was getting glitter all over herself.

“Serena, you’re obsessed,” she said as she looked around the room again.

She had given up on untangling the lights she had accidentally grabbed by the wrong end and was now just staring at Serena as she meticulously put the ornaments on the tree. Each one had a very special spot and nothing could be in the wrong place or it would throw the whole look off. And there wasn’t just one tree in the house. Oh no, there were 4 trees that needed to be decorated.

“I’m not obsessed. This is normal. Millions of people decorate for the holidays,” she replied.

“Yeah, but not this much. Just look around!” she chuckled as she looked down at herself and realized she looked like an ornament with how much glitter had stuck to her when she was getting the baubles out.

“Okay. So what if this is an obsession? I enjoy it and it makes me happy, so stop making fun of me for it,” Serena said as she climbed off the step stool and walked towards Bernie with tears in her eyes.

“Oh darling, I’m not making fun of you. I’m just saying it’s a bit much for me. I don’t know how to help and I’m covered in glitter.” Her voice was soft as she pulled Serena into her arms.

“I’m sorry. I just really enjoy this.”

“I can see that. Is there anything I can do? Want a cup of tea and some biscuits?”

“I’d love that,” Serena smiled. “You know, it’s a shame I already have angels for the top of the trees because with all that glitter on you, you’d fit right in,” she said and winked up at Bernie, causing her goose laugh, which Serena loved to hear.

“Well, I wouldn’t be much help to you in bed if I were on top of a tree, now would I?” Bernie whispered into Serena’s ear, making her shudder.

“Nope, you wouldn’t,” she groaned before she stepped away so Bernie could go to the kitchen, but not before playfully smacking Serena’s bum on her way by.

“Bernie!” she gasped.

After nearly 5 hours, all of the decorations were hung inside and out and Bernie had to admit that they were rather beautiful. Serena had also made a loaf of Christmas bread and homemade hot cocoa that made the whole house smell amazing. Maybe Serena’s Christmas obsession wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing that made me think about how much Catherine celebrates the crap out of Christmas even though she isn't religious 😂


	9. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to stay up and write this one because the idea popped into my head and I didn't want to forget the details. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I think y'all will like it.

The 2018 Holby City Hospital Christmas party at Albie’s was well underway. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. Jason and his new wife Greta were having a great time showing pictures of Guinevere to anyone that would dare look at the nearly 1,000 Jason had on his phone.

Serena, however, was not having a good time. She loved Christmas, but with Elinor being dead and Bernie in Nairobi, she couldn’t help feeling lonely. Sure, she had Jason, but he had his own family to keep him company.

The double wedding 10 days ago was beautiful and Serena thought it couldn’t have been more perfect. Well, if Bernie was there, it might’ve been. She hadn’t heard from her since the day of the wedding and it made Serena sad.

“Why are you by yourself? Aren’t you having a nice time?” Jason asked Serena when he saw her sitting in the corner by herself.

“I am. I just feel a bit sad,” she smiled at him.

“Is it because Elinor is dead and Bernie, the love of your life is miles away?” Jason had such a way with words.

“Yes, that’s it,” Serena nodded.

“Now that I’m married to Greta and since you take care of me like a son, she can be your daughter. She can take Elinor’s place. Guinevere is already like a granddaughter to you,” he said, not understanding that you can’t take the place of a child.

“Thank you, Jason, that’s very sweet of you,” she smiled and took her hand.

As the party went on, Serena remained in the corner guzzling Shiraz like it was grape juice. The events of the last month had taken its toll and she needed to find a way to forget it all. The issue with Leah Faulkner almost ended in a huge mistake and she was thankful she didn’t invite her into the on-call room after she abruptly pressed her lips to Serena’s. She hadn’t told Bernie about all of it because she didn’t want her partner to worry, but she planned to tell her eventually. Maybe the next time they saw each other, whenever the hell that would be. With all of the radio silence, Serena didn’t think she would ever see Bernie again.

After an entire bottle of Shiraz, Serena was ready to leave the party and was about to call a cab when Donna Jackson rushed over to her with a massive smile on her face.

“May I help you?” Serena slurred.

“I have a surprise for you. Follow me,” she about squealed loudly.

Serena stood up and followed the woman out into the hall outside the bar. She waited there for 2 minutes and was just about to go back in and collect her things when the front door opened and the most beautiful blonde woman walked towards her.

“Bernie?!” Serena’s eyes lit up as bright as the lights on the tree that stood next to her.

“Hi, Serena,” she smiled and hugged Serena before planting her lips on the grey-haired woman.

“What are you doing here?!” Serena asked. She sounded and looked like a little kid on Christmas Day and she was sure that’s how she felt at that exact moment.

“It’s nearly Christmas and I was able to take time off to be with the woman I love,” she replied. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Serena’s face, well, her lips.

“How did you know I’d be here?” Serena had so many questions to ask, but it didn’t matter the answers, Bernie was in her arms, and that all that mattered.

“When I knew I was coming back, I got ahold of Donna and she told me the details,” she said. “It was hard to keep it a secret. That’s why we haven’t talked much, I’m sorry and I hope that you forgive me,” she continued. She looked deep into Serena’s eyes with a slight puppy dog look.

Donna was still standing near them with the same look on her face that she had when Bernie had surprised Serena back in June.

“I forgive you. I’m just so glad you’re here,” Serena sighed and kissed Bernie. Donna let out a squeal and they both turned towards her.

“Sorry, I’ll leave you ladies to it,” she said

“Thank you so much, Donna,” Bernie said.

“Yes, thank you so much,” Serena followed.

“Of course. You two are like pure couple goals.” The older women had a confused look on their faces. “Oh, my daughter says it all the time. It means everyone wants to have the same loving and caring relationship as you two,” she explained before turning and heading back into the bar.

“So it does exist,” Serena said a few seconds later.

“Sorry, what?”

“Magic. There is such a thing as magic and it truly happens at Christmas,” Serena said in shock.

She stopped believing in Santa at a young age because she thought there was no way one man could do such a daunting task in one night. When that happened, she lost all hope of there ever being any kind of magic in the world, but thanks to Bernie Wolfe, she restored that hope.

“Are you happy?” her beautiful partner asked her with nothing but love in her eyes.

“Incredibly happy. I love you so much, Bernie,” Serena replied and kissed Bernie once more.  
“I love you too, Serena.”

Serena would have to tell Bernie about Leah, but not until after they had spent several hours in bed together, getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies and creating their own magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing this, I realized that I wish this had happened instead of what actually happened 😠


	10. Scrooge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's the difference between Scrooge and the Grinch? I feel like they're the same person?

Bernie & Serena were in the middle of putting the Christmas decorations up in their house, well, Serena’s house. Bernie had moved in when she sold hers in June and most of her stuff had been at Serena’s for several months, so it was foolish not to.

Serena did most of the decorating while Bernie sat on the couch and watched. She wasn’t a huge fan of decorating like her partner and Serena took notice.

“Why am I doing all of the work?” Serena asked when she saw that Bernie hadn’t moved from the couch since their last break.

“I hate doing this part. I hate putting everything up and then having to take everything down and magically making it all fit in a box,” Bernie shrugged and took another sip of her tea.

“Okay then, Scrooge. Do you hate presents too?” Serena joked as she moved to sit next to Bernie.

“Well, I don’t _hate_ presents, but I had a bad experience with them,” Bernie responded.

“Oh?”

“When I was 5, I really wanted a dollhouse that I saw at the toy store. I begged my parents to buy it for me that day, but they told me that Santa would get it for me if I was good. I had to wait 6 weeks and I thought I was being good, but Christmas Day arrived and it wasn’t there. I broke down crying and every year after that I refused to talk to Santa or tell anybody what I wanted for Christmas because I didn’t get what I wanted. I know that makes me sound like a horrible person, but it hurt me to not get that dollhouse,” she laughed. She realized the whole thing was a bit ridiculous, but she couldn’t shake how she felt.

“Oh, Bernie, that’s okay. Every child goes through something like that, but do you still hate Christmas because of that?” Serena asked.

“I don’t hate it as much, but it’s not my favorite holiday. I enjoyed Christmas when my kids were little and when I was home with them. I bought Charlotte a dollhouse one year because I wanted to see if it would help me get over the past, but it made me sad that I didn’t get to play with it when I was little. I know, I’m pathetic,” she said and buried her head in her hands.

“Not pathetic, but it is funny,” Serena chuckled. “How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?”

“I think I was 7 or 8? I thought he couldn’t possibly be real because of all the gifts he had to deliver in 8 hours. How about you?”

“3. I remember sneaking out of bed and tip-toeing into the living room and seeing my dad laying the toys out and my mum drinking the milk. I went back into my bedroom and cried, but I never told my parents that I knew because I thought it would break their heart,” Serena said.

“You were so young,” Bernie said with a sad look on her face.

“Yeah. I finally told them I knew when I was 6 because they played up Santa too much and I just couldn’t go along with it anymore. They were sad, but they were also kind of relieved,” she said. “I guess you aren’t Scrooge, you were just scarred at a young age,” Serena smiled.

“You’re right, I don’t hate Christmas. I love what it means and the happiness it brings people, and I love the music.”

They finished up the decorating together and then sat down on the couch and turned the television on, and laughed that the movie A Christmas Carol was about to start. Bernie would eventually get over the trauma, but until then Serena would show her how wonderful and beautiful the Christmas season was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never seen a movie with Scrooge in it so I don't know why he hated Christmas 😂


	11. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you all know, Berena broke up a year ago today. I hope all of you take care of yourselves and know that you can DM on Twitter or Tumblr(hartkinsao3 for both accounts) if you need someone to talk to ❤️

It was 21 December 2017 and Serena Campbell was spending her 10-month sabbatical in the south of France. She was feeling extremely down because Christmas was approaching fast and it was the first one without Elinor. She knew that after Christmas came New Year’s, then 2 days after that would be the first anniversary of Elinor’s death and she wasn’t ready for that.

Her partner, Bernie Wolfe was in Nairobi setting up a trauma unit, something that she knew Bernie had to stay there and do instead of spending time with her in France.

The whole month of December had been rough for Serena, but for some particular reason that was unknown, today was the roughest. She spent the day in bed continuously sobbing and feeling like she was drowning. Maybe the grief was too overwhelming, or maybe it was because this would be the first Christmas spent all by herself. Whatever the reason, Serena had to keep herself from falling into that black hole like she did back in April.

Serena was jolted awake at 2 pm by a loud knock at the front door. Normally she would ignore it, but something inside her told her to get up and answer the door. When she opened the door and saw who stood there, her knees suddenly gave out on her.

“Bernie,” she gasped as she fell to the floor.

Bernie picked her up and hugged her so tightly that she thought she had suffocated her because she wasn’t breathing for almost 5 seconds until she let out a loud sob. Bernie slowly walked Serena over to the couch and sat her down, all the while keeping her arms around her. She let her cry it out because she knew she had been holding it in for a while.

When Serena finally caught her breath, she pulled away from Bernie to look into her eyes.

“What’re you doing here?” she asked.

“I came to spend Christmas with my partner. I know this would be hard for you, because of Elinor, and I didn’t want you to be all alone. I’m here for you, Serena. I love you,” Bernie said, looking into the other woman’s eyes and seeing the pain.

She couldn’t imagine what losing a child was like, and she didn’t want to, but she had to be there for Serena as much as she could, even if the woman shut her out, she had to keep fighting.

“I love you, too,” Serena almost sobbed as she hugged Bernie and buried her face into her neck. This was what she needed. Bernie was the solution to her drowning. She needed the comfort and the familiar scent and touch from her partner to keep her afloat.

Bernie stayed with Serena for the rest of December. The people in Nairobi knew about Serena and what she went through and they had no problem letting Bernie ditch them. They knew that she wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t super important.

Bernie & Serena spent their time together mostly in each other’s arms, finding comfort in feeling the other’s breath on their skin. Neither of them knew what the future held for them and they didn’t want to think about it. Whether Serena would go back to Holby or to Nairobi with Bernie, they were unsure, but they savored the little time they had together because they knew it could change in an instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would be sad writing a fic today, but I think I’m at the point that I’m more mad at what Holby has done in the last year.


	12. Lighthouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI the Leah thing never happened. She was there, but she was just like any other F1, stressed and didn't fancy their boss.

Serena had caught the bouquet at Jason’s wedding and she was so happy. She looked around for Bernie and spotted her at the door winking at her before walking out. Serena wanted to go follow her but was quickly pulled into a conga line. After 2 minutes, she was able to free herself and she left the pub to go find Bernie, she was probably just outside smoking. Serena knew she had started again, but didn’t say anything because she only did it when she was stressed.

“Look what I caught!” Serena laughed as she walked up to Bernie and waved the flowers around.

“Crap, does this mean I have to marry you???” Bernie asked, her eyes wide in terror, jokingly.

“Oh, stop it!” Serena said and smacked Bernie’s arm with the bouquet.

They stood outside for a bit longer. Bernie was done partying and wanted to get out of there and Serena was feeling the same way.

“Have you partied enough? Do you wanna get out of here?” Bernie asked when she was done with her cigarette.

“Yeah, I think I’ve had enough of this,” Serena sighed.

They both went back inside and said their goodbyes before heading out in Serena’s car. Bernie drove because she said she wanted to take Serena to see some Christmas lights, which Serena didn’t protest.

They drove through a couple of neighborhoods and were in awe at what people could do with a bunch of lights. Some were synched to music, and some were surrounded by inflatable characters. Bernie could tell by Serena’s face that she enjoyed them, but that wasn’t even the fun part of the evening.

Bernie drove the car 5 miles outside of Holby where they ended up at a beach. It was cold and Serena didn’t want to get out of the car, but Bernie told her there was something she wanted to show her.

In the distance stood a tall lighthouse. Serena had seen them a lot while on holiday but had never been inside one. Bernie got ahold of the owner of the tower and they allowed Bernie & Serena to take a look inside.

As they climbed the many steps up to the top, they both realized how out-of-shape they were. Maybe their New Year’s resolution would be to get in shape.

When they got to the top, Bernie guided Serena to the other side and had her look out the window.

“Oh Bernie, this is so beautiful,” Serena gasped. As she looked out, she could see Christmas lights in the distance. She could also see a bit of Holby if she looked farther.

“It is, isn’t it? Just like you,” Bernie replied.

As Serena stood there in amazement, she hadn’t noticed that Bernie wasn’t standing next to her.

“Bernie, what are you doing???” Serena gasped when she turned around and saw Bernie behind her on one knee with a ring box in her hand.

“I-I love you. I know I’m shit at communicating, but I love you so much. We’ve been through so much in the last 3 years since we’ve known each other. I know that distance is an issue with us, and hopefully one day it won’t be, but I can’t imagine my life without you and I don’t want to. Will you marry me?” Bernie looked up at Serena and saw that she had tears in her eyes, and soon she did too.

“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you. I’d love nothing more than to marry the love of my life,” Serena squealed and grabbed Bernie’s face and kissed her lips hard.

You see, Bernie had this planned. Before she decided to come back for Jason’s wedding, she spent a week shopping for the perfect ring for Serena. She knew she wanted to propose to her, but she didn’t know when the right time would be. She had the thought of proposing(and marrying) Serena in her head ever since Greta said that she was Serena’s wife back in June. She just couldn’t stop thinking about that moment. If Jason & Greta already think of her as Serena’s family, then why weren’t they married yet? Or at the very least engaged?

When Serena caught the bouquet, she knew it was time to pop the question. She didn’t want to do it at Albie’s because she didn’t want the spotlight taken from the 2 married couples. She had planned to do it the next day, but after watching Serena catch the flowers, she just couldn’t contain her excitement, she had to do it now.

Bernie & Serena walked out of the lighthouse hand-in-hand and headed back to the car. They were definitely going to celebrate this moment. Alone and in bed.

After showing their love for one another, they laid in bed in each other’s arms and fell asleep like they always did, but it felt different and special this time.

They didn’t know what the future held for Bernie in Nairobi, but they both loved each other and that was enough for them.


	13. Glasses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't in the mood to write so this one is super short :/

It was Christmas morning and Bernie & Serena were enjoying a relaxing afternoon. Elinor, Jason, Cam, and Charlotte had visited earlier and opened presents.

“Should we open our gifts?” Bernie asked as she let Serena snuggle into her side.

“Sure, I’ll get them.”

They both laughed when they opened their gifts from each other because their minds were definitely on the same page.

Serena had given Bernie 2 whiskey glasses, one said ‘For medicinal purposes only’ and the other ‘Shut up liver, you’re fine.”

“Serena, these are so great, I love them,” she laughed.

Serena opened her gift and smiled at the 2 wine glasses. One said ‘Shiraz o’clock’ and the other ‘My blood type is red wine.”

“Oh Bernie, you know me so well,” she said and hugged her.

They spent the rest of the day cleaning up the wrapping paper, watching Christmas movies, and ended Christmas Day drinking alcohol out of their new glasses.

They both knew that the other woman didn’t want extravagant gifts because the best gift having each other in their lives, and nothing could top that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble thinking of something creative and fluffy 😂


	14. Shivering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sort of back with the fluff.

Serena had a tradition every year to go to Holby’s tree lighting ceremony. She loved Christmas, she probably celebrated more than anyone. She just loved the joy it brought to people and the excuse to cook a bunch of food and give gifts. This year would be Bernie’s first time going to the tree lighting because she had always missed it in the past due to work or being out of the country. She couldn’t wait to go with Serena and start a new tradition.

Luckily, they had the day off and could do some Christmas shopping beforehand. The weather was decent, but Bernie knew the bitter cold would arrive once the sun went down.

They got ready to go, Bernie putting warm clothes and her winter coat on, Serena wearing something nice but not so warm. Bernie had told her it was going to be cold, but she just shrugged and said she doesn’t get cold.

When they arrived at the ceremony, which was in a park, there were already a ton of people there. They found a spot off to the side and took pictures of the tree. They were even able to get a selfie of them with the tree behind them. It was such a pretty tree, very tall with a bunch of lights strung on it. Around the park had smaller trees that had lights on them too and when the time came, they would all turn on at once, it was such a cool thing to witness. I guess you could compare it to the tree lighting in New York City, just not as epic and with a much smaller tree.

As the sun began to drop, so did the temperature. Everyone started to get their hats and gloves out of their pockets. Serena the fashionista, had a scarf, thin gloves but no hat. She said a hat would ruin her look and her hair. She owned a hat, of course, but it was massive and made her look like she had a raccoon wrapped around her head. Bernie was worried about her, but she said she wasn’t cold.

At 7 pm, the ceremony began with the mayor of Holby talking about the history of the city and of the tree lighting. Then a local choir started singing Christmas Canon and suddenly the tree lit up, practically blinding everyone. The lights around the park turned on as well and the whole place was so bright and beautiful.

The choir went on to sing O Christmas Tree and asked everyone to join in, that’s when Bernie turned and looked at Serena and noticed that she trembling a bit.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yep,” she replied, her teeth chattering.

“You’re cold, aren’t you?” Bernie realized that she wasn’t trembling, she was shivering.

“A little.”

“Oh darling, here,” she said as she started to take her coat off.

“No Bernie, you’re gonna get cold,” Serena gasped.

“Not if I do this,” she grinned as she took one sleeve off and pulled Serena closer to her and had her put her arm in the empty sleeve.

Luckily, the coat was huge on Bernie and Serena was able to stand half in front of her so it could be zipped back up.

“This looks silly, Bernie,” Serena whispered into Bernie’s ear now that they were so close to each other.

“Is it keeping you warm?” the blond asked.

“Yes.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if it looks silly. Would you rather be cold?”

“I guess not,” she sighed.

“Good. Plus, we look like some baddie off of Doctor Who. The two-headed lesbian alien.” Serena just rolled her eyes in response.

Bernie was a dork sometimes, but she was so caring and would do anything to make Serena feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been to a tree lighting ceremony because my lungs can't handle the cold, but they sound fun.


	15. Holly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what comes out of me when I'm too tired to write, but have to get something out 😂 Enjoy!

Serena loved holly. She had several plants dispersed around the house because she thought it made each room look brighter. She loved Christmas and she loved decorating for it. There wasn’t an inch in the house that didn’t have something decorative. Lights, garland, and ribbon were strung on the trees and banisters. And the halls weren’t the only thing decked with boughs of holly, every entryway and doorknob had red and green, along with mistletoe.

With Christmas music playing throughout the house, and every song that mentioned the word holly in it coming on nearly every other one, Serena continued her quest to make their home the most flammable one on the block.

Bernie thought Serena’s decorating was overwhelming and over-the-top, but she didn’t dare say anything to Serena because she knew there would be consequences. To keep Serena from seeing how overwhelmed Bernie was, she stayed in the kitchen and baked, something that she secretly loved to do, and she was good at it. Bread was her specialty, mixing spices, dried fruit, and walnuts topped with icing and glazed cherries to create a beautiful loaf of what she called, Christmas Day bread. Made to only be eaten on Christmas Day, but Bernie always broke that rule. It was something her grandmother loved to do, and after she passed, Bernie took on the responsibility to carry on the tradition. Serena grumbled for ditching her decorating for the bed and asking her if it was really necessary to make it this early, but Bernie just shrugged her shoulders and kept going.

With the entire house decorated from head-to-toe and soon smelling like freshly baked bread, Bernie & Serena sat down and enjoyed a slice of bread with some eggnog while watching Love Actually, life was perfect. Well, it was until a little ball of holly that was hanging from the sitting room light, landed right on top of Serena’s bread, making her gasp and Bernie release her ‘inner goose’, Serena called it.

“That’s not Christmas Day bread anymore, now it’s Holly Day bread!” Bernie said and almost choked on air from laughing so hard.

She saw that as karma getting back at Serena for complaining about the bread being made too early. And maybe it was a sign that she just had too much Christmas stuff.

Once Bernie had calmed down from her laughing fit and Serena got another slice of bread, they watched the rest of the film.

Decorations or no decorations, bread or no bread, either way was fine with Bernie & Serena, as long as they were in each other’s arms, they were happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what that was.....but, I got the bread idea because I spent several hours making Christmas bread and my house still smells like yeast.


	16. Cider

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is super short because I fell asleep while writing it so I woke up and typed something out as quickly as I could

It was approaching Christmastime with meant cider was in season. Serena loved drinking cider and eating cider donuts, and she even loved making cider.

When Bernie came downstairs from taking a shower one afternoon, the entire sitting room and the kitchen smelled like hot cider. It almost made Bernie gag because it brought back bad memories as a child.

“Doesn’t it smell heavenly in here???” Serena about squealed when Bernie walked into the kitchen.

“No, it smells like my childhood,” she groaned.

“I’m assuming this is a bad smell to you?”

“When I was little and I had a cough or a sore throat, my mum made me drink apple cider vinegar. It was so acidic that it almost burned the lining of my esophagus and stomach. I could never drink it on an empty stomach or it would burn so badly.” Bernie shuddered as she spoke, her brain making her body think she had just drunk some.

“But that was vinegar, this is just cider. There’s no acidity in this,” Serena said. She felt bad for Bernie and what she went through as a little girl.

Serena had Bernie try a little taste and it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. She didn’t love it as much as Serena did, but at least it helped those horrible memories of the apple cider vinegar go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I like writing about things that have happened to me and incorporating them into my fics. I was actually had to drink apple cider vinegar whenever I had a cough or sore throat and it was awful. I will say that it clears my ears and nose out when they're stuffed up from a cold or sinuses!


	17. Sleigh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a rough day so the fic is short, sorry.

Bernie knew Serena loved Christmastime and she wanted to do something festive. She briefly thought of doing a bus ride to see Christmas lights, but that didn’t seem Serena enough. She did some research online and found that a small town outside of Holby did sleigh rides on the streets of what they called the Old Market. Bernie thought that would be the perfect thing so she booked a time in the evening.

After they ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, with an extensive wine list, of course, they walked to a block to where the sleighs were.

“Bernie, what are we doing?” she asked when she saw that there were horses with velvet antlers on their heads.

“We’re going on a sleigh ride!” Bernie giggled.

“Really??? Oh, I’ve always wanted to do this!”

The ‘reindeer’ pulled the red sleigh through the Old Market while Bernie & Serena got to see the lights and all the small shops and restaurants that lined the streets, with the horses’ feet making a rhythmic sound against the pavement. It was such a magical and fun experience that they would definitely do again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the song Sleigh Ride in my head while I was writing this.


	18. Laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what this is, but here you go!

Serena had never heard it before. She didn’t even know it existed. Everything changed the second she heard it.

It was a normal day at Holby City Hospital, except for the part where CEO Henrik Hanssen dressed up as an elf and Sacha Levy dressed up as Santa and let the children in the hospital come and visit. No one knew this was going to happen until the 2 men walked through the halls of the wards looking for children wanting to visit Santa.

Bernie & Serena were in their office discussing a procedure when Serena glanced out onto the ward and saw the 2 dressed up men, her eyes going wide. She ushered Bernie to look and that’s when she heard it. She heard the goose honk.

Bernie couldn’t remember when she developed the ridiculous laugh, but she hated it from the start because she was made fun of right from the start. Over the years, she learned to accept that she had a different laugh that made her unique. She tried to hide it as much as she could, but there were times, like this moment, where it just slipped out. As soon as it came out, she knew she had ruined her relationship with Serena. There was no way she would want to work with a goose, but when she looked at Serena, her face didn’t read terror as it did with other people.

“Oh my god, what was that laugh????” Serena gasped.

“I know, it’s awful. I’ve had it for as long as I can remember, “ Bernie almost groaned and hung her head in embarrassment.

“No, I think it’s brilliant. I’ve never heard anything like it. I love it,” Serena laughed. She wasn’t laughing at Bernie, but she just didn’t know how else to respond.

“Really?” Bernie nervously chuckled. “People usually hate it when they hear it. I try to hide it, but sometimes it just slips out.”

“Not me, I think it’s beautiful,” Serena smiled.

“Thanks,” Bernie replied. She couldn’t help ‘honking’ again and soon they were in a trance of laughter.

Whatever was happening on the ward was completely forgotten because what was happening inside the office was much funnier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will take any excuse to mention Jemma's amazingly beautiful laugh. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I just play videos of it and I instantly smile.


	19. Naughty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the "eventual smut" tag finally makes sense. I can't help but write smut when the prompt is naughty!

It was Bernie & Serena’s first Christmas together as a married couple and they were excited.

Serena had picked out the perfect gift for Bernie, a heated coat and fuzzy slippers for the mornings that Bernie put the bins out. She never dressed appropriately and she would be freezing when she came back inside. Serena had told her that she needed to wear her long-sleeves undergarments, but Bernie never did. Her beautiful and stubborn wife would now be ready to brace the cold.

Bernie has chosen the perfect gift for Serena as well, a gorgeous diamond necklace with both of their birthstones molded together. Serena loved wearing jewelry and Bernie loved seeing her in it.

Serena loved surprising people but hated being surprised. She always wanted to know what was going on and would get mad if she was left out on a secret. When she was little and her parents hid presents from her, she would go searching all over for them. Once she had found them, she wouldn’t say a word, but she would act surprised when it came time to open them.

Bernie didn’t know about Serena’s little trick so she thought she was safe when she told Serena she wasn’t going to put her present under the tree until Christmas Eve. Well, that lit a fire under Serena because she just _had_ to find that present.

Serena searches everywhere in the house for the gift. She tried her best to think like Bernie and think of all the silly places Bernie would hide something.

One evening, when Serena was home from having the day after work, she went searching for the gift again. She looked in closets, drawers, and cupboards. She figured she had checked every inch of the house by then. Just as she was digging in the coat closet, Bernie walked through the door after getting off work.

“What are you doing?” Bernie asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Nothing,” Serena responded quickly.

“Are you looking for your gift from me?”

“No,” she almost whispered as she looked down at her feet.

“You are, aren’t you????” Bernie gasped.

“Okay I am, but I can’t help it. I bloody hate surprises!” Serena nearly groaned.

“Serena, it’s a Christmas present, it’s supposed to be a surprise!” Bernie laughed.

“I’m sorry!” she yelled.

“I think I’m going to have to punish you for being naughty,” Bernie said. Her tone had gone from teasing to seductive in a matter of seconds.

If she was honest with herself, Bernie had been waiting for a moment like this. For Serena to do something bad and giving her a reason to punish her.

“Bernie,” Serena gasped. She had yet to see this side of Bernie and she was intrigued.

“Actions have consequences, Serena. You’ve been a very naughty girl,” Bernie moaned into Serena’s ear when she got close to her.

“Punish me,” Serena moaned.

“Upstairs. Now.”

Seren ran up the stairs faster than she had done before and when she got to the top of the stairs, Bernie was behind her and pulled her into her arms and kissed her lips hard.

Bernie guides them into their bedroom and slammed the door shut.

“Please,” Serena gasped. She didn’t know what Bernie had planned, but she was so ready for her.

“Get naked,” Bernie ordered. The soldier inside her coming out to play.

When both the women were naked, Bernie pulled Serena into her arms with the woman’s back to her front and got to work on punishing her. She ran both her hands up Serena’s body and cupped her breasts and thumbed the nipples hard.

After working the nipples to hard peaks, she moved her right hand down Serena’s torso stopped at the wiry curls.

“Please, Bernie,” Serena begged.

“Patience, naughty girl,” Bernie whispered into Serena’s ear, causing the woman to shiver.

Bernie’s fingers danced around between Serena’s legs, avoiding where Serena needed them the most while her other hand still groped Serena’s breast. After teasing her for several seconds, she pressed her fingers hard to Serena’s clit and rubbed fast.

“Bernie!” Serena gasped. She practically jumped out of Bernie’s arms at the sudden hard and fast movements. “I’m close already,” Serena panted not a minute later.

“Do not cum yet. You aren’t allowed to orgasm until I say so. That is part of your punishment,” Bernie ordered as she continued her assault on Serena’s clit.

“Oh god, I can’t. I need to,” Serena gasped.

She was right on the edge and Bernie knew it and quickly pulled her fingers and hand away and stepped away from Serena, making her almost fall to the floor. She caught herself and pressed her hands to the mattress that was, luckily, right in front of her. She breathed deeply a couple of times to stop herself from touching her clit, which she desperately wanted to do.

“Stay right there and don’t touch yourself,” Bernie ordered again before walking over to her dresser and pulling something out.

With Serena’s back to Bernie, she was unable to see what was going on, but she heard every movement.

After what felt like hours, Bernie walked back towards Serena and grabbed her hip and a little too roughly, pushed her back so she was bent over the bed.

“I’ve got a double-headed dildo on and I’m going to fuck you, but you can’t cum, understand?” Bernie said while rubbing and squeezing Serena’s bum cheeks.

“Y-Yes,” Serena replied shakily. She was so close but she knew that if she orgasmed without being told, Bernie would punish her even more.

Bernie took one hand off of Serena’s bum and smacked it, causing Serena to let out a gasp.

“Naughty girls get spanked,” Bernie said before doing it on the other cheek.

Once Serena’s bum was completely red, Bernie grabbed onto the toy between her legs and ran it through Serena’s folds before shoving it inside, making Serena almost fall onto the bed with the force.

Bernie soon found a good rhythm and was pounding Serena’s core hard as gasps and moans filled the room.

“I need to cum. Please let me cum,” Serena cried. She couldn’t hold off her orgasm much longer.

“Just a little bit longer,” Bernie moaned. She was getting close too and she wanted both of them to cum together.

Bernie sped up her thrusts into Serena which caused the dildo inside her hit her g-spot. She was finally right on the edge and she knew Serena had been dangling there for quite some time.

“Cum now!” Bernie gasped right as her orgasm hit.

Serena was not 2 seconds behind her, cumming hard and screaming before collapsing onto the bed, pulling Bernie on top of her.

“Holy shit,” Serena laughed when their breathing returned to normal.

“Good?”

“No.”

Bernie furrowed her brow for the second time that night

“Fucking amazing,” Serena grinned, causing Bernie to roll her eyes.

“Well, if you go looking for your gift again, it might not be ‘fucking amazing’ again. Naughty girls must be punished,” Bernie said, trying her best to be serious and failing.

Christmas Day finally came and Serena’s gift remained a surprise to her and she nearly cried when she opened it.

When Bernie opened her gift, she laughed at first, but she realized how much Serena cared for her. Serena knew as stubborn as Bernie was, she wouldn’t care for herself so that meant Serena had to do it, and she didn’t mind one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the longer fic!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like putting up decorations, but I hate taking them down. That's probably why I don't decorate very often.

Decorating for Christmas was not Bernie’s forte. If it was up to her, she would get a string of lights and garland and a small pack of ornaments and hang them on the floor lamp and call it a day. Even when her children were little, she had no desire to decorate for Christmas, but she did it just for them. Serena, however, loved to decorate. She was like an interior designer on crack. She loved every holiday, but Christmas was her absolute favorite.

Serena had the day off so she spent her time decorating the house she shared with Bernie. She loved being able to play Christmas music and take her time setting everything up. She knew if Bernie was there, she would distract her and be in the way.

When Bernie arrived home from work, she froze in the doorway. Their house was transformed into a winter wonderland. It looked like a Christmas bomb had gone off. There was garland, lights, and glitter everywhere. Bernie didn’t think one person could own that many decorations. As she walked around the house, she was in awe of the placement of each piece. It looked as if every decoration belonged there, and they were beautiful. After changing into her comfy clothes, Bernie found Serena and complimented her on the ability to do all of the decorating and still have time to make a ton of cookies.

Serena was still working on the cookies when Bernie walked into the kitchen. She couldn’t even count how many that were spread out everywhere, but it had to be at least 150. None of the cookies had been frosted or decorated yet, so Bernie figured Serena needed some help and washed her hands before jumping into action.

The women talked about their day as they continued working on the cookies. Serena thought Bernie would be a big help, but it turned out that the only help she was doing was clearing the cooling racks by shoving cookies into her mouth.

“Bernie, stop eating the cookies or we’re not going to have enough to frost,” Serena sighed.

“Thowy,” Bernie mumbled, nearly choking on the cookie in her mouth. She decided to take a break and sit on the couch in the sitting room until Serena had a job for her.

As she looked around, she noticed that the teddy bears. Not just in one spot, but everywhere. She didn’t think there were that many when she first got home, but as she was able to get a good look, she realized that there were. Come to think of it, there were a bunch upstairs too.

The longer she sat on the couch, she began to realize how creepy the bears were. They just stared at her with their black eyes. Everywhere she turned a bear was looking deep into her soul. How did Serena get so many? Why were there so many? She noticed that they all had a year embroidered on the foot, meaning she must’ve gotten one every year, but when did it first start and will it ever end?

Later that night after 400 cookies were made, they finally made their way upstairs to bed. Bernie noticed a tiny bear on each step and just chuckled and shook her head. She would have to ask Serena about the bears soon. She loved Serena dearly, and if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the woman, she would have to learn to love the bears, and her many decorations too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My grandma passed away 2 months ago and it's her birthday today so I thought I'd pay tribute to her in this fic. She loved collecting Christmas bears, but she kept them in one spot of the house. When I was little, I used to hide in the pile. When she moved out of her big house, she got rid of those bears. I can't remember if she gave me the bear that said 1991(the year I was born) or not. If I did, I got rid of it and I wish I hadn't because that was something that she loved and it was a good memory I have of her.


	21. Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was rushed and sort of lame because I was busy watching SNL and couldn't think of a good idea.

Bernie & Serena both had their separate tradition of putting their own special angel on top of the Christmas tree. Neither woman wanted to give theirs up even though they loved each other very much.

“We can’t not put an angel on there. What are we going to do?” Serena asked when it was time for the big moment.

“I know, we’ll arm wrestle for the angel,” Bernie said with a wicked grin on her face.

“Oh no, I’m not falling for that again,” she chuckled. She thought back to how their last arm wrestling battle went down.

“Come on. It’ll be the only way to solve this problem.”

“Alright, fine,” Serena sighed.

They went to the kitchen table and got their hands into position. Bernie counted to 3 and the battle began. Just like the last time they did this, Serena put up a fight, but it was Bernie that pinned her hand down. At least it was a fair this time.

Serena pouted as she watched Bernie put her angel on the tree. It looked old and fragile, but Serena could see how much it meant to Bernie. Maybe they would make a new tradition and switch off every other year. Not wanting to leave her angel in the box, Serena was able to set it on a side table near the tree.

Once the tree was decorated, the women made some hot cocoa and sat down on the couch to find a Christmas movie to watch.

While Serena scrolled through the channels, Bernie snuggled up beside her and started to sing.

 _“You are my special angel, sent from up above,”_ she sang with her head on Serena’s shoulder.

“That was cheesy but sweet,” she laughed.

As their relationship progressed, there would be other dilemmas like the angel, but they would be able to work through them because they cared so much about one another and they weren’t going to let anything stand in their way of being happy together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They'd arm wrestle over things like that, right? 😂


	22. Pinecone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short because I was at a family Christmas party all evening and got home late. Plus, I couldn't think of a better idea for the prompt.

Bernie had no idea what pinecones had to do with Christmas, but thanks to Serena, she was soon going to find out.

Bernie has helped Serena set up the decorations inside and outside of the house, without any trouble. She even helped with making Christmas tree cookies by putting the red dot candies at the top of each one and green sprinkles all over. She didn’t think there could possibly be anything left to do, but she was wrong.

Serena called her into the kitchen and when she walked in, her eyes widened in shock. Spread all over the table and countertops were at least 200 pinecones. Bernie had no idea as to where Serena got that many, and honestly, she didn’t want to know.

“Come help me decorate these,” Serena said as she laid out a bunch of crafts on the only space that was left.

“Decorate?”

“Yep. We’re going to turn these things into owls. It’s gonna be a hoot!” Serena laughed way too hard for how lame the joke was. Bernie just rolled her eyes and sat down next to her partner because she knew she couldn’t get out of it.

After a half an hour, Bernie was getting the hang of it. Each owl was different from the last, which was what Serena wanted. The plan was to hand these out to patients in the hospital as a way to cheer them up.

“Is this the only thing left to do once this pile is finished?” Bernie asked when they had about 25 pinecones left.

“No. After they all dry, we have to write a little message on a tag and stick them to each one, she replied.

“Hooray,” Bernie sighed.

She loved Serena very much, she just couldn’t handle the decorating overkill.

2 days later, Serena handed out the pinecone owls and the patients loved them. Serena always tried to do something special for them since they were stuck in hospital during Christmas. Each year was something different, but judging how well the pinecones went, she would make sure she did them again in a couple of years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently turning pinecones into owls is a thing? I didn't know they were until I googled Christmas pinecones and saw several DIY pinecone owls.


	23. Snowman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't made too many snowmen in my life because I can't be out in the cold for very long.

The first real snow hit Holby City in the middle of December, and while the children were excited, the adults were not, well, Bernie Wolfe was. She secretly loved playing in the snow, which Serena had just learned recently. Luckily, it was a Saturday so neither of them had to brace the cold and powdered roads to get to work. As they sat on the couch while drinking their coffee and watching the neighbors clear the concrete, Bernie had an idea.

“Do you wanna build a snowman?”

“Did I suddenly turn into Elsa?” Serena asked.

“No, why?” the blonde asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Because you just quoted a line from Frozen,” she chuckled.

“Oh! I didn’t even realize!” she laughed. “But seriously, let’s go out and build one instead of shoveling because that sounds like way more fun,” she continued as she pointed towards the window.

After finishing their drinks, they got their snow gear on and marched outside, ready to build the biggest snowman possible.

Bernie started at one end of the front yard and gathered some snow and began pushing it to collect more snow until the snowball was too heavy to push.

Serena started at the other end and did the same, making sure she stopped near Bernie’s so they could put hers on top.

They started on the 3rd snowball together, making it slightly smaller before setting it on top of the other two. Serena went back inside to find stuff for the face and even got a scarf and hat while Bernie searched the yard for sticks to use as arms. It wasn’t the most creative snowman they’d ever seen, but it was as tall as them, and they thought that was impressive.

Neither of them still wanted to shovel so they decided to make another one just like the first because they wanted the snowmen, well, snow-women to represent them.

Once they finished the second one, they figured they might as well shovel the driveway and walkways since they were outside anyway and had no desire to do it later. They had it done within 20 minutes and were able to go inside and warm up.

As they glanced outside the window again, they were happy with their creations. They knew their neighbors probably watched them the whole time, but they didn’t care because they believed that you’re never too old to build a snowman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I had to slip that Frozen reference in there because I saw Frozen 2 earlier. I loved it and I thought it was better than the first one. Olaf has always been my favorite character.


	24. Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late(and short) as usual but at least I can use Christmas Eve as my reason.

Serena had felt safe all her life. Her parents kept her safe throughout her childhood and Edward kept her safe throughout their marriage. Since the divorce and since her mother’s death, she hadn’t felt that safety like she had her entire life.

The day she felt safe again was the day she & Bernie kissed on the floor of the theatre room. She felt that safety even when Bernie ran off to Kiev, to know that she had someone in her life that cared about her made her not be fearful.

Bernie showed just how much her safety for Serena stretched while they were driving to Bernie’s parents’ house half an hour outside of Holby on Christmas Eve. The roads weren’t considered dangerous in Bernie’s eyes, but Mother Nature always had a way of tricking you. They were just 10 minutes away when their car suddenly hit an ice patch. Bernie resisted the urge to overcorrect the steering wheel to keep them on the road, even though her brain told her to. She instead slowly turned it back and held the brake pedal steady as the car slid down the interstate going 40mph. Serena was scared. In the back of her mind, she didn’t think she would live to see her in-laws again, but she knew better than to question Bernie and her knowledge.

With their exit in sight, Bernie put her blinker on and guided the vehicle towards the off-ramp as slow as possible while it glided on the road like it was an ice rink.

When they finally got off the dangerous road and away from the ice, Serena released a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. She knew she could trust Bernie, she knew she would keep her safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bernie's a good driver, right?


	25. Giving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was out of town for Christmas yesterday and was too tired to write the final prompt. I'm back in town now and I wanted to get it done so it wasn't hanging over my head.

Bernie was good at giving and forgiving. When she & Serena nearly broke up 2 weeks ago, she thought that was the end of her life. Serena had told her reasons, silly ones, as to why they shouldn’t be together, but Bernie stood her ground and refused to let Serena go.

Now it was Christmas Day and Bernie was back in town and ready to show Serena how much she loved her. Serena had bought Bernie travel size toiletries and a couple of tumblers so Bernie could have her caffeine fix during the long flights. After they realized they would be worse off being separated than being together, they agreed to see each other every 6-8 weeks. Serena didn’t want Bernie to always do the traveling, but she would take the time off when she could because she really wanted to see the trauma center in Nairobi that Bernie raved about. They promised to give it their all and make their long-distance relationship not seem as bad as it was by communicating more and being there for each other whenever possible.

After Serena told Bernie what happened between her & Leah, Bernie contacted her boss to retract her resignation, and after hearing what had happened, her boss was more than happy to accept the retraction. The NTC would never find anyone half as good as Bernie, no matter how hard they looked.

Bernie’s gifts were more extravagant, not that gift-giving was ever a competition to them, Bernie always felt extra giving during the holidays, and no matter how hard Serena tried, she could never top Bernie’s gifts.

Bernie’s gifts to Serena started simple, a pair of fuzzy socks because Serena always complained of cold feet.

Next, she bought her a new pair of reading glasses because Serena refused to believe she was getting old enough to need them and she could hardly see in her other pair.

After that, the gifts started getting extreme. When Serena opened the next box, her mouth hung open when she saw that Bernie had bought her a new phone. Bernie made a promise so Serena that should no longer give her radio silence and to prove it she was going to FaceTime her every night if their schedules let them. Serena didn’t complain about the picture quality when she saw Bernie or when Bernie sent her pictures, but Bernie had a hard time seeing Serena clearly on the screen, which could be the WiFi connection, but she attributed the blurry pictures to Serena’s iPhone 5c camera. Bernie was able to get a good deal from being in the military, so it really wasn’t a big deal.

The last and most expensive present was also the most special and memorable. Bernie had planned to come back for Christmas since June when they were last together, and she had this moment planned as well, but that night in Albie’s nearly ruined it. Since that night, she knew that this had to be done and done right then and there.

Serena was about to open the gift when Bernie grabbed it from her hands and insisted that she opened it for her. Serena’s brow furrowed so hard that Bernie swore her face was going to look like that forever. When Bernie unwrapped the box and pulled out the item, she held it in front of both of them and tears started to form in their eyes.

“Serena, I love you so much. I know we’ve been through more in the last 2 years than most couples go through during their whole relationship, but we aren’t most couples. I know that I haven’t been here for you physically, or verbally. And for that, I am so sorry, and I promise to be better. In the last 2 weeks, I’ve learned that I can’t live without you, and frankly, I don’t want to. If you feel the same way, which I hope you do, will you make me the happiest and luckiest woman in the world and marry me?”

By the end of Bernie’s speech, they had tears running down their cheeks. Tears of sadness that displayed all of the horrible stuff they had been through and how hard it has been to be apart, but also tears of happiness that displayed how much they really loved each other and how they didn’t want to be without the other woman.

Serena couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough before pressing her lips to Bernie’s over and over.

This had been the best and hardest Christmas for Bernie & Serena, but knowing that they were committed to each other and loved each other, made saying goodbye a little easier for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my fics. I had a lot of fun participating in my first Berena Advent.
> 
> Now I'm going to take a break because I've been writing every single day for 2 months straight and my brain is tired. I'll be back eventually to write more one shots and maybe work on my WIPs!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one! I think there was only one other fic I've written that had no dialogue, and I kind of liked writing it.


End file.
